Two dominant backs in Michael Murphy and Jaylen Malcom are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Branham Bruins will take on the Santa Teresa Saints at 7:15 p.m. on Friday. Branham has given up an average of 27 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
On Thursday, Branham was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 52-46 to Live Oak. While the Bruins didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Acorns 7-3 in the first quarter.
The match pitted two dominant backs against one another in Murphy and Gage Jones. Jones had a great game and rushed for 328 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 7.6 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Murphy was balling out in the loss, rushing for 230 yards and a pair of scores while picking up 8.8 yards per carry, and also picking up 67 receiving yards and two TDs.
Meanwhile, Santa Teresa strolled into their game on Thursday with a perfect record and they left with the same. They came out on top against Christopher by a score of 27-16.
Santa Teresa's win came from a few key players Branham will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Prince Collins, who picked up 90 receiving yards and one touchdown.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Santa Teresa proved: they limited Christopher to a paltry three yards per carry. The Saints' ground attack was stronger, having averaged 5.2.
Santa Teresa's record now sits at 8-0. As for Branham, their loss dropped their record down to 5-3.
Branham came up short against Santa Teresa in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, falling 34-28. Can the Bruins avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
